US judge orders Enbridge to shut down portions of Wisconsin pipeline within 3 years By Reuters

Written by Clark Mindoc

(Reuters) – A US judge has ordered Canadian energy company Enbridge (NYSE:) to shut down parts of an oil pipeline that runs through tribal lands in Wisconsin within three years and to pay the tribe nearly $5.2 million for trespassing plus a portion of its profits. . until the shutdown is complete.

US District Judge William Conley issued the order Friday in Madison. The judge’s decision came just over a month after the Bad River Band told him an immediate closure was needed after heavy spring rains eroded a river bank protecting the tube. The pipeline transports 540,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada through the Great Lakes region.

An Enbridge spokesperson said Saturday that the company plans to appeal the judge’s order.

Conley said in the ruling that the sudden closure could lead to oil shortages and higher prices in the United States, adding that “given the environmental risks, the court will order Enbridge to adopt a more conservative plan for closure and disinfection.”

In court filings before the judge’s action, Enbridge said a quick shutdown of the pipeline was unnecessary and would cause “extreme market disruption.” The company has proposed rerouting the pipeline around the tribal reservation, but has not received federal approvals to do so.

Tribe representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The tribe said a breach of the 12-mile (19-kilometer) pipeline running through the reserve could contaminate important fishing waters, wild rice habitats and possibly aquifers.

The tribe sued Enbridge in 2019, arguing that riverbank erosion threatened a “looming catastrophe” that warranted removal of the pipeline, and said the company no longer had the legal right to work on the property after the expiration of the pipeline easement allowing it to use the land. in 2013.

Conley ruled last year that the pipeline was encroaching on territory but stopped short of ordering it closed over public and foreign policy concerns. The judge said in November that significant erosion that would cause a rupture was unlikely, but asked the parties to draw up a closure plan anyway.